Roll Bar

apple

Just bought myself a 96. The only thing is my mom making get a roll bar. Considering im 6'2quot; im built just wrong for this car. My seat is all the way back and my hair pretty much grazes the top. So i was looking at some of my options and the Hard dog duece looked pretty good. I liked how it sat far enough back and low enough that if i was rear ended there was no way i could smack my head on it. Also it was compatible with a glass rear window and hard tops. Then i looked at instalation and it looked difficult. I am not looking for a style bar, it has to be strong enough to stand up in a roll. Just wondering what you guys thought were some good options i dont have a preference whether its single or double hoop.
Thanks for any help

You should just drive like a grandma on her way to church instead  .

Hey, I used to live in Sammamish-- right off 228th on 25th St. (22874 NE), third house on the left. My kids went to McAulliffe; my older daughter worked at the Family Pancake House right off the 502 in Redmond.
It's my favorite of all the addresses I've ever had...
I feel your pain with your height-- I'm 6'1'', and I have the seat as far back as it will go, but still think of removing some foam from the seat to settle that couple of inches lower down and farther back to actually fit comfortably in the car. I also think about head clearance with roll bars. You mentioned the Deuce, but what about the Ace? Supposedly, it has been designed to deal with the needs of people like us. One thing that would be very helpful is to see a set of pix from several angles of some of these bars-- I wonder about the Deuce, too, and the only shot they show in the catalogues is that one shot from the rear-- not very imformative in terms of our needs.
If anyone has either of these products, and could put up some pix of them that show fitment in relation to where taller people need to sit, it would be much appreciated.

This is the picture i based my hard dog duece assumption on, its an NB not sure if that makes a difference (taller seats?).  Looks like the seats are all the way back too. It seems as if it would be pretty hard to hit your head on. projects/s...C/DSCN9694.jpg
This is the hardog ace, which actually looks like its easier to hit your head on, but also maybe a little safer in a roll over. Its on a 99 so that might make a difference. images/ace_v.jpg
who knows! its all so confusing

The first pic is with NB seats, a far different back than the NA seats. Andstill not really high enough for some drivers.
If you think your head won't hit any 'street' roll bar in a decent rear impact with a stock NA seat at 6'2quot;, you have never seen video of those events in tests or just don't get physics. No disrespect intended, our school system is designed to produce such people. And does great at it.
As a positive step, Please swap in a NB seat like the first pic if you really buy the statistically undocumented campaign to get remarkably safe roadsters like Miatas equipped with roll bars far too short to do any real good in a hard inverted impact. (Most flips Aren't hard inverted impacts, just bounces on one upper corner or both, settling upright or inverted with very small vertical vectors.) Being taller when the seat belts are stretched 'up' and you are being pulled straight in the seat by centripetal forces or gravity, than any street bar, I'd hope you see the problem.
Both the Deuce and the Ace are more than strong enough to offer what protection such a low and close roll bar offers. (They'll survive crashes you won't.) The dangers of the bar itself are largely dependent on the seat you use. IIRC, both bars are the same height. Notice the difference in how the NA seat exposes the steel tubing to your skull when it snaps back from an Escalade going 35+ punts you across an intersection?
The fit of your Miata is possible to remedy. I'm 6' 2quot; and a fraction. Lots of leg room and I can now see red lights when stopped at intersections since I massaged the foam of the seat and the back. Assaulted it, really. If trimming the seat foam to fit you better sounds great, and How isn't obvious, email me. I've done a few and have a little experience I'll share.
If it's possible to educate your Mom, there is a lot of information in these forums on why certain setups with street roll bars may well be more dangerous overall than a plain stock Miata. Proper seats with backs the height (In relation to Your height.) that numerous studies show is necessary anyway to protect against whiplash, do almost all necessary to eliminate these dangers.

so swap in some nb seats and i should be safe from wiplashing my skull into a million pieces. Is that a direct swap using same rails?

Don't know about the rails, but I've been told the bolt holes are compatible. Direct swap. I'm looking for a driver side NB seat myself, but locally people seem so reticent to crash their Miata for me. I'll have to keep the stocker on hand for autocross as Stock class doesn't let us swap in safer equipment even if it weighs the same.
You'll be SAFER! (Much!) There are better seats out there. Stronger and higher backs, with ears to the sides so you don't whip and flail into the bar as the car does it's second through 19th hit in a more complicated wreck than a simple bridge abutment or tree assault. I'm guessing from a lot of discussions on crash survival most people don't know there are quite a few common wreck scenarios played out on our streets that involve multiple hits from a variety of directions. Which is why good seats and real belts are so much safer than air bags.

So i have looked into it a little more and was just wondering if adding the SFI padding or any other padding would interfere with seat travel (the leaning back part) in an nb or na with nb seats (im pretty sure im going with the nb seats, some guy has them on craigslist for $100 in decent condition, its to good of deal to pass up). O and i have a glass window  (no defroster) aftermarket top by m amp; t manufacturing or  the convertible top guys. Does that matter? will the glass still fold flat and can you still unzip it. Thanks you guys have been very helpful.

The glass top will limit the types of rollbars you can get, so make sure that you find one that will play well with the glass.
I don't recall the padding that I had on my M2 Sport rollbar interfering with anything, and I'm pretty sure that the thicker, safer, uglier dual-core padding I have on my current  hardcore bar doesn't interfere with anything, either.  But I have the shorter NA seats so I can't comment on the NB seats.
BB.

[QUOTE=gtxhawaii;3968955]Please swap in a NB seat like the first pic if you really buy the statistically undocumented campaign to get remarkably safe roadsters like Miatas equipped with roll bars far too short to do any real good in a hard inverted impact.
What year NB seats do you recommend. I am 6'4quot; and there isn't a roll bar out there that will help me and still allow me to put the top up. Are saying that the NB seats help keep ones head from hitting the roll bar or that NB seats in a NA is a better set up sans roll bar?
And no I don't track it I just worry about my kids in the car with me if I was hit good and hard by the Tahoe driver on the phone.

Off to our Roll-Bar section. Welcome to Miata.nuthouse!

I am nearly 6'2 and have a Deuce.  I am more than pleased with it.
Never bumped my head on it, and really never know its there.
I didn't buy it as a quot;Rollbarquot; but to protect me in a side impact.
I have a quot;Miata Shopquot; and have seen lots of wrecked Miatas.
You are much more likely to get hit up front, but quite a few get punched in the door. :ugly:
I also have installed a whole lot of bars, and picked a Deuce for mine and my wifes.
I installed a Boss Frog Clearview and a HDHC this week.
(which amazingly have no crossbracing between seatbelt towers)
If you ever see a Miata with the passenger door panel against the console, thats an image you will never forget.